Two teams in the thick of their respective playoff chases will square off twice this weekend — the Wings will take on the Wild in Minnesota on Saturday, then host ‘em at the Joe on Sunday (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN).

Minnesota, meanwhile, is trending in the opposite direction — the Wild have lost six of eight, though did manage to accumulate eight points over that stretch. That’s left them with 83 going into the weekend, good enough to hold the first of two wild card spots in the Western Conference.

St. Louis to take on Philly, Pittsburgh

The Keystone State will get a good look at the NHL’s No. 1 team this weekend, as the Blues — first in the league with 101 points — take on the Flyers in Philadelphia on Saturday, then face the Penguins in Pittsburgh on Sunday.

Boasting an 8-1-1 record since acquiring Ryan Miller and Steve Ott at the NHL trade deadline, St. Louis has looked like a legit Cup contender in recent weeks, but did suffer a setback on Wednesday with a disappointing 4-0 loss in Chicago (y’know, the reigning Cup champ.) With that it mind, the Blues will head into this weekend looking to rebound from the Chicago loss and test itself against two of the East’s most talented teams — Pittsburgh sits atop the Atlantic Division with 45 wins and 95 points while Philly remains one of the hottest teams in the league, going 7-2-1 over its last 10 games.